Chair



' L. H. FENNELL CHAIR INVENT R M @@@W/M Patented dan. E., "i924,

LEWIS E. FENNELL, F. GREENSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA.

CHAIR.

Application filed September 13, 1922. Serial No. 5883052.

To f/,ZZ whom t may concern.'

Be it lruown that 'oinwis H. FENNELL, a citizen of the United States,and resident of Greensburg, in the county of llVestmoreland and State ofPennsylvania, have in.

vented a new and useful improvement in Chairs; and l do hereby declarethe following to be a full, clear, and exact description thereof,

My invention relates to chairs for household use, and its object is toprovide such a chair with an auxiliary seat device for small children,suoli auxiliary device forming a permanent and inconspicuouspart of thechair, and being easily and quickly adjustable to various heights.

ln the accompanying drawing, Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a chairconstructed in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is an enlargedvertical sectional view showing the auxiliary seat in its upperoperative position; Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view showing theauxiliary seat adjusted to its lower operative position; Fig. 4 is afragmentary vertical section showing the manner in which the auxiliaryseat is folded when not in use; Fig. 5 -is an enlarged side view of oneof the plates which guide and support the rear of the auxiliary seat;and Fig. 6 is a perspective view of one corner of the auxiliary seatshowing one method of attaching a supporting pin thereto.

The drawing shows a chair having the usual seat 2 and legs 3 and theusual back consisting of side rails 4 and a panel 5. These parts may beof any usual or desired construction.

Secured to the inner side of each of the rails 4 is a guide plate 6having a slot 7' and a recess 8 communicating with the slot 7. Theplates 6 may be attached to the side rails 4 by means of screws -9 orotherwise, and the slots serve as guides for an auxiliary seat 10 havingpins 11 projecting from its rear corners and received in the slots 7 ofthe plates 6. Figure 6 of the drawing shows one method of attaching thepins 11 to the auxiliary seat 10, such means consisting of a small plate12 screwed or otherwise attached to the under side of the seat 10 andhaving an ear 13 which carries the pin 11.

The seat 10 is provided near its front edge with a supporting member 15which is attached to the under side of the seat 10 by means of hinges16.l The swinging edge of the supporting member 15 may be provided witha strip 17 of felt or other suitable material to prevent the edge of thesupporting member from scratching or bruising the chair seat.

Some chairs have horizontal rails, such as the rail 18 shown on thedrawing, extending between the side rails and projecting above the chairseat. If the chair to be equipped with my auxiliary seat does not havesuch a rail the rail 18 is added, as shown on the drawing, and maysuitably be provided with a groove 19 in its upper surface to receivethe edge 20 of the auxiliary seat 10 when the auxiliary seat is foldedinto the position shown in Fig. 4. The rail 18 serves as an abutmentagainst which the lower edge of the supporting member 15 rests when theauxiliary seat is adjusted in its lower operative position, as shown inFig. 3. y

Suitable means, such as a hook 22 and a screw eye 23, may be providedfor securing the supporting member 15 in its folded position, as shownin Fig. 4.

When the auxiliary seat is notrequired, the supporting member is foldedbeneath the seat member 10 and the entire .device is moved to theposition shown in Fig. 4 where it'forms a part of the chair back andypresents a neat and inconspicuous appearance. The chair is thensuitable for any ordinary use according to its design. It will usuallybe a dining chair or a kitchen chair, but the use of my device isobviously not restricted to these particular kinds of chairs. Y

`While the auxiliary seat device is thus out of the way and almostunnoticeable, it is ready at a moments notice to be converted intofahigh'chair for small children, and when so used Vmaybe adjustedeither'for the height shown in Fig. 2, in which case the pins 11 arereceived in the recesses 8 of the guide plate 6, or for the lowerposition shown in Fig. 3, in which case the pins 11 rest in the lowerends of the slots 7 and the swinging edge of the supporting member 15rests against the rail 18. Recessesl similar to the recess 8 may beprovided, if desired, in the lower ends of the slots 7 in order toprevent the rear edge of the auxiliary seat from being tilted up if theweight of the child should rest upon the front edge of the auxiliaryseat.

This device, without materially changing the appearance of an ordinarychair, is a convenience when small children are to be set at a diningtable, for example, and does away in such cases withthe annoyance ofobtaining high chairs or piling books or the like upon ordinary chairs,as is usually done. This device is also useful as a householdstep-ladder.

I am aware that auxiliary seat devices have been provided for chairs,but such devices have been separate constructions, in the nature ofstools, to be placed on the seat of an ordinary chair, or have been hungby means of straps or hooks over the back of the chair. In eithercase-the auxiliary device is removed from the chair and stored when notin use, and is therefore much less convenient than my present devicewhich is a permanent part of the chair.

Various changes may be made in the construction and arrangement ofparts, and it will therefore be understood that my inven-` tion is notrestricted to the precise details shown in the accompanying drawing, butmay be variously modified within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

l. A chairliaving the usual seat and having a back comprising spacedupright rails,

-slotted plates secured to the inner surfaces of said upright rails, anauxiliary seat having progections engaging the slots in said plates, asupporting member hinged to the saidauxiliary seat near its front edge,and a transverse rail extending between said upright rails and having agroove in its upper side adapted to receive and support the lower edgeof said auxiliary seat.

2. 'A chair having the usual seat and having a back comprising spacedupright rails, plates secured to the inner side of the said uprightrails and having upright slots, each provided with a lateral recessspaced above its lower end, an auxiliary seat having laterally extendingpins adapted to enter said slots and recesses in said plates, asupporting member hinged to the under side of said auxiliary seat nearits front edge, and an abutment for engaging the lower end of saidsupporting member and thereby maintaining said supporting member in aninclined position', said supporting member being adapted, when vertical,to support said iii horizontal alignment with said recesses, and beingalso adapted, when engaging said abutment, to support said auxiliarylseat in horizontal position in alignment with the lower ends of saidslots.

3. A chair having the usual seat and having a back comprising spacedupright rails, plates secured to the inner side of the said uprightrails and having upright slots, each provided with a lateral recessspaced above its lower end, an auxiliary seat having laterally extendingpins adapted to enter said slots and recesses in said plates, asupporting member hinged to the underside or" said auxiliary seat nearits front edge, and a transverse rail extending between the saidupriglitrails and adapted to form an abutnent for the lower edge of saidsupporting member, said supporting member being adapted, when vertical,to support said seat in horizontal alignmentl with said recesses, andbeing also adapted to rest aga-inst said rail and to support the saidauxiliary seat in horizontal position in alignment with the lower endsof said slot-s.

Ll. A chair having the usual seat and a back comprising upright siderails, plates secured to the inner sides of said rails, and having slotsextending in a generally vertical direction and recesses extendingrearwardly and downwardly from said slots between the ends ofsaid slots,a horizontal rail extending between said upright rails adjacent to thechair seat, an auxiliary seat having laterally extending pins receivedin Vsaid slots and adapted to enter said recesses, and a supportingmember hinged to the under side of said auziliary seat and adapted, whenvertical, to support said seat in horizontal alignment with saidrecesses, the said supporting member being also adapted to rest againstthe said rail and to support the said auxiliary seat inl horizontalposition in alignment with the lower ends of said slots. In testimonywhereof I, the said LEWIS H. FENNELL, have hereunto set my hand.'

LEWIS H. FENNELL. t

